I bought this record recently, after reading an excitable and positive review in The Wire magazine. I thought I’d go direct to the source, and so ordered it through Finnish record label Fonal’s website – I do so enjoy receiving parcels from far-flung lands in the mail. Olimpia Splendid are, like the label of this release, […]
Author: simonminter
KAREN NOVOTNY X / SAMANTHA GLASS: Join Hands / Near 86th (7″, Deep Distance DD16, 2013)
There’s rather an air of mystery surrounding many aspects of this split 7″ single, pressed on white vinyl. Karen Novotny X is not an individual but a band; they take the A side and spin at 33 rpm. According to the notes on this record’s insert, their track was recorded in East London between winter […]
JEALOUSY MOUNTAIN DUO: No_01 (LP, Blunoise LC 05575, 2011)
Here’s a nice example of the kindness of strangers. I wrote a very brief piece on my record label’s website about Nicoffeine and their “dystopic, potentially harmful guitar noise” after hearing one of their tracks on a Wire magazine compilation CD. Soon afterwards, a member of the band – Jörg Schneider – got in touch […]
THE LEGEND: 73 in 83 (7″, Creation CRE 001, 1983)
This record is notable for a number of reasons including: It’s the first 7″ release on Creation Records, who of course went on to dominate and reshape the independent music scenes (feel free to argue that point among yourselves) and release records by Primal Scream, Jesus & Mary Chain, Oasis, Jasmine Minks, The Loft, etc… […]
VARIOUS: The In-Kraut Vol. 2 (2LP, Marina MA 67, 2006)
After many months of living with a jumbled record collection, I finally organised everything into alphabetical order over the past couple of days. (LPs, 12″s and 10″s, at least – the 7″s can wait until another time…) Part of this process inevitably meant reminding myself of records that I forgot I owned, or that I […]
EX-EASTER ISLAND HEAD: Mallet Guitars Three (LP, Low Point LP055, 2013)
This is the first Ex-Easter Island Head record I’ve owned, after listening to their earlier work Mallet Guitars One and Mallet Guitars Two / Music For Moai Hava on Spotify several hundred times. It seemed like I should do my small part to help prevent the collapse of the music industry, and shell out for […]
THE SEE SEE: Featherman (7″, The Great Pop Supplement GPS109, 2013)
It’s been a while since I posted here – I’ve been sans turntable for a few months now (I know, it was cruel and inhuman) but I’m celebrating seeing in 2014 with a new one, which arrived today. So let’s get back to business! As I’m sure I’ve mentioned here before, The Great Pop Supplement […]
SLUDGE NATION: Monkey On My Back (7″, Rhythm King LEFT48, 1997)
Strange one this, as it represents a certain watershed moment in my music writing/reviewing life, rather than being a record that I have any deep affection for (or, indeed, any recollection of what it actually sounds like, beyond vague noisy pop-punk memories). In the very early 1990s, inspired by the indie-pop scene and some very […]
MAHOGANY: In The Presence Of The Crepuscular (7″, Amberley AMY 6, 1999)
A record from what was in some ways an early wave of the instrumental, semi-electronic post-rock sound that came to inform vast swathes of independent music, this Mahogany single is a real ‘prepared with love’ kind of artefact, despite being packaged in a standard 7″ sleeve: The cover artwork is superb – a bit of […]
EVEN AS WE SPEAK: One Step Forward EP (7″, Sarah SARAH 49, 1991)
Australian band Even As We Speak were an ambitious lot, in the context of the often-lazy, often-detail-rather-than-big-picture world of indie-pop. This EP, for example, plays at 33 1/3 rpm rather than the usual (for Sarah Records, at least) 45 rpm – yet it still only contains one song per side. What does that mean? Why, […]